Thursday's letters: Permitting and training

Published: Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 6:51 p.m.

As a newcomer to South Carolina from a liberal mid-Atlantic community, I am both surprised and appalled by the proposed open-carry gun legislation — not because it brings guns out into the open but because it fails to include a requirement for special permitting and for training in the use of firearms. Surely those requirements are at least as necessary if a weapon is visible as they are if it is concealed; perhaps more so.

My own feeling is that if a person feels so threatened as to “need” a weapon, he should be made to carry it in full view. If it is meant as a deterrent, surely a visible weapon is more effective than a hidden one. Only if it is meant for offensive use is there reason to conceal it. On no account should it be an automatic or “assault” weapon. That sort of artillery belongs in the active military and nowhere else.

Analogy: A farmer owns a shotgun to keep the crows out of his corn. He props it on his front porch, clearly visible, and no one proposes to take it away from him. Why? Because he has a legitimate use for it, knows how to fire and maintain it, and on that basis has secured from state government a permit to have it. Wouldn’t the community be better off with more farmers and fewer vigilantes?

Nancy Morgan Ambler

Spartanburg

We need to speak out

I began my day on March 21 reading the paper and came across an article that almost made me sick. The article discussed a Senate panel’s approval of open-carry gun legislation. Sen. Shane Martin said, “People are here begging for their God-given constitutional rights.” He was referring to gun legislation currently being discussed in South Carolina.

I have been taught all of my life that God is love. Jesus taught that we are to love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. With these teachings as a guide, it is blasphemous to me to even put God’s name in an article concerning the “God-given constitutional rights” regarding guns!

I ended that same day on a much more positive note. I attended a presentation open to the public and given by Curt McPhail concerning what is happening on Spartanburg’s Northside. The Northside Development Corp. is working diligently to revitalize a part of Spartanburg that has been home to neighbors who have less financially than some of us. Jesus speaks of our responsibility to these neighbors.

I went from there to the Chapman Cultural Center and enjoyed a performance by Ballet Spartanburg. I saw young people who are using their amazing “God-given” talents to make our world a better place.

Are there others like myself who are “begging” for a world where we live as one and reach out in love and compassion to our neighbors? I know I could not be the only one who does not want the governing body of our state to be so concerned about guns that we miss the far more important needs and concerns of our world today! Please speak out so that our voices can be heard.

<p>As a newcomer to South Carolina from a liberal mid-Atlantic community, I am both surprised and appalled by the proposed open-carry gun legislation — not because it brings guns out into the open but because it fails to include a requirement for special permitting and for training in the use of firearms. Surely those requirements are at least as necessary if a weapon is visible as they are if it is concealed; perhaps more so.</p><p>My own feeling is that if a person feels so threatened as to “need” a weapon, he should be made to carry it in full view. If it is meant as a deterrent, surely a visible weapon is more effective than a hidden one. Only if it is meant for offensive use is there reason to conceal it. On no account should it be an automatic or “assault” weapon. That sort of artillery belongs in the active military and nowhere else.</p><p>Analogy: A farmer owns a shotgun to keep the crows out of his corn. He props it on his front porch, clearly visible, and no one proposes to take it away from him. Why? Because he has a legitimate use for it, knows how to fire and maintain it, and on that basis has secured from state government a permit to have it. Wouldn't the community be better off with more farmers and fewer vigilantes?</p><p><em>Nancy Morgan Ambler</em></p><p><em>Spartanburg</em></p><h3>We need to speak out</h3>
<p>I began my day on March 21 reading the paper and came across an article that almost made me sick. The article discussed a Senate panel's approval of open-carry gun legislation. Sen. Shane Martin said, “People are here begging for their God-given constitutional rights.” He was referring to gun legislation currently being discussed in South Carolina.</p><p>I have been taught all of my life that God is love. Jesus taught that we are to love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. With these teachings as a guide, it is blasphemous to me to even put God's name in an article concerning the “God-given constitutional rights” regarding guns!</p><p>I ended that same day on a much more positive note. I attended a presentation open to the public and given by Curt McPhail concerning what is happening on Spartanburg's Northside. The Northside Development Corp. is working diligently to revitalize a part of Spartanburg that has been home to neighbors who have less financially than some of us. Jesus speaks of our responsibility to these neighbors.</p><p>I went from there to the Chapman Cultural Center and enjoyed a performance by Ballet Spartanburg. I saw young people who are using their amazing “God-given” talents to make our world a better place.</p><p>Are there others like myself who are “begging” for a world where we live as one and reach out in love and compassion to our neighbors? I know I could not be the only one who does not want the governing body of our state to be so concerned about guns that we miss the far more important needs and concerns of our world today! Please speak out so that our voices can be heard.</p><p><em>Joan McPherson</em></p><p><em>Spartanburg</em></p>